OUR HISTORY

Founded in 1982 by Nelson Tamayo, Nelson Landrieu, Mateo Gomez and Marta García. Latin American Theater Experiment Associates (Teatro LATEA) reflects the concern of these award-winning actors with the underrepresentation of Latinos in North American theater. When the Solidaridad Humana bilingual educational program anchored at former P.S. 160 ceased to exist, the founders developed a communal theater space. Shortly thereafter LATEA found itself as the sole tenant of the former Public School building. Serendipitously, its members and Ed Vega Yunqué manged to safeguard a formidable city-owned building for downtown Latino arts. In 1993 Ed Vega and the LATEA founders established the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center (The Clemente). During its illustrious 38 year history, Teatro LATEA has been widely acknowledged for its contributions to the performing arts.